Giving Every Yandere Villainess Her Happy Ending!

”P-Page thirty-two...”

Annabele had, by that point, simply accepted my progress. Not fully, obviously. The bewilderment still flickered behind her eyes, but she accepted nonetheless.

And despite everything, she looked proud more than anything. Even if my rate of advancement was frankly mind-numbing. Her kind heart always won out over whatever logic should have been screaming at her.

By then, I’d already moved on to actual combat magic. Spells I could genuinely use, not just utility techniques like creating light sources, the vague healing I’d started with, or other support spells better suited to a backline.

As for the spell itself?

”I did it. It’s a ward.”

A defensive barrier. Light magic’s second most iconic application after the obvious healing. Its barriers were among the strongest compared to the other primordial elements, one of the few combat-relevant advantages the attribute offered.

”It looks solid...”

Annabele chimed in, reaching out to touch the translucent white sphere surrounding me. Her palm pressed against its surface, testing the firmness.

”Reyn... do you mind if I attack it with offensive magic?”

”Be my guest. I’m curious too...”

Annabele rose from her chair, rubbing her hands together as static crawled up her arms before gathering in her palms.

Whatever spell she was preparing, it looked far beyond anything on the fiftieth page of the textbook we were using as a guide.

”Radiant Echo.”

She murmured the words and planted her palms against my ward. The barrier shuddered under the force of her spell.

”Try pouring more mana into it, Reyn. Let’s see how durable it is.”

I nodded and focused on the ward, making sure the faint healing spell on my forehead stayed active, even if only at a fraction of its strength.

”Okay, that’s better.”

Annabele said, increasing the strength of her own magic in response.

And then...

FWOOSH!

Her magic suddenly recoiled. The pressure she had been forcing into the ward rebounded through the room, sending Annabele’s chair skidding backward and knocking a small potted plant from the side table.

She caught it before it could hit the floor.

”That confirms it! You’re a prodigy, Reyn!”

Annabele set the potted plant back in place, then stood with both hands pressed to her chest, her expression so bright it looked as if stars were shining in her eyes.

”Was it really that impressive...?”

I asked. Annabele nodded, though she quickly added a small clarification.

”What you did was more than impressive! This kind of progress is unprecedented, y’know? But as for the spell’s actual performance... I guess we could chalk that up to average.”

Annabele shook her head.

”But that doesn’t matter. We all start somewhere, and you’re clearly starting far higher than most people!”

She said it excitedly, but as her enthusiasm finally began to fade, she finally realized how much time had passed.

Outside the windows, the sun had completely set, and the night lamps along the street were already glowing.

”W-Wait...? What time is it?”

”It’s 7:24.”

I said, glancing at the clock on the wall behind her, the same clock that had been there the entire time and something she clearly hadn’t noticed.

”7:24!?”

Annabele immediately grabbed her book and began packing her things, rushing toward the door. Even with her homework finished, it seemed she still had other responsibilities waiting for her back home as the daughter of a noble.

”I-I need to go. Sorry I can’t give you a proper goodbye! But I’ll be back here tomorrow, so don’t worry!”

Annabele closed the door behind her, leaving me alone in a room that had now become absurdly saturated with mana.

I let the ward dissolve, its translucent shell vanishing entirely. Not that it did much to ease the charge left in the air after two people had been flinging magic around nonstop.

But at least it now felt slightly less tingly.

”Prodigy, huh.”

I flexed my fingers, testing whether magic caused any physical pain.

Nothing.

It seemed magic only affected the mind.

Seriously...

Even after inheriting this body’s memories, I still felt like I knew next to nothing when it came to magic. Sure, I now knew a few noble houses here and there, but that was about it.

One thing was definitely clear: the real Reyn had never been interested in magic at all.

But I guess the past was the past. There was no point dwelling on the mistakes of the old me. As far as I knew, my new soul had completely killed him.

Not that I really cared, though.

”7:24, and still no nurse has come to give me dinner yet...”

Well, I’d take that as a positive. Forced dieting, I supposed. This body definitely needed it.

For now, I should just lie down on the bed and try to continuously maintain all the spells I had learned so far.

Light Sphere, Minor Healing, Light Ward, Guiding Light, and whatever other spells I had that were far more useless than the ones I had already listed.

I still had no idea whether I really was a prodigy, or if my previous training was the reason behind my mana capacity. The second was less likely, but I wasn’t one to deal in absolutes.

I’d find out in the morning anyway.

Or whenever this hospital finally bothered to bring me my food.

Either result was honestly fine for now.

As for using my novel knowledge to get an advantage? That was future Reyn’s problem for now.

Most of the powerful artifacts I had in mind wouldn’t be touched for another five months anyway. I had time to recover, get stronger, and figure out what kind of body I had stolen.